- Laura Rosner, an analyst at the bank BNP Paribas
US consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of the US economy, rose in November as lower gasoline prices and gains in wages provided a boost to the holiday shopping season, urging the biggest gain in retail sales in eight months and giving the economy a lift. Sales of US retailers increased 0.7% in November, stronger than the projected rise of 0.4% and the best result since March, following an upwardly revised 0.5% advance in October, the Department of Commerce said. Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, rose 0.5% in the reported month. With the rapidly strengthening labour market and some early signs of greater wage pressures, domestic households should help the world's number one economy to sustain robust growth even in light of a deteriorating situation in Europe, Japan and China.
Meanwhile, the number of initial jobless claims across the country dropped to a seasonally adjusted 294,000 in the week ended December 5, compared with 297,000 seen in the prior week. The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better gauge of labour market trends as it strips out weekly volatility, rose by 250 to 299,250, staying below the 300,000 mark for the 13th consecutive month. Job gains in November were the largest in nearly three years and marked the 10th month in a row of increases above 200,000, the longest such streak since 1994.
© Dukascopy Bank SA